R.A.F

VIRII · 25 Feb 2006 at 10:08

The_Judge said:
I was ruled out because of my eyesight aswell, so i had to take the commercial route. However my friend who is 6ft 4 fits inside the plane but failed the aircraft carrier landing phase (Navy), didnt have the depth perception. Which im very surprised they didnt find out earlier.

Did he make a big splash ?

VIRII · 25 Feb 2006 at 10:10

Stringy said:
I still don't know what the call that bloody plane, I've heard RAF personnel call it the JSF and JCA, I've heard other candidates call it JCA, JSF and F35. Even the material the RAF Careers guys provide is inconsistent

I know what you mean, in the testing circles we tend to refer to it as the JSF.

The_Judge · 25 Feb 2006 at 10:18

he didnt make a splash but he bounced off the deck a few times

VIRII · 25 Feb 2006 at 10:20

The_Judge said:
he didnt make a splash but he bounced off the deck a few times

Ouch lol.

panthro · 25 Feb 2006 at 10:28

If your 15 then you've got of a couple of years left until puberty stops

Worry about the height then.

Hugogo · 25 Feb 2006 at 11:49

Eliot said:
nope, perfect vision (or close)

Hate to ruin it all for you however....

If your vision isnt perfect they wont take you. Not only that but if you have anything wrong with you you wont get in.

Do you have asthma? Hayfever? Eczma? Any of those no matter how badly or if they were in the past 5-6 years (or sometimes life depending on severity). You wont get in.

There are hundreds if not thousands of people all out there who want to do this job you need to be almost perfect.

Also id seriously consider getting a degree before you join as most of the people youll be serving with will be graduates. Forces are trying to recruit graduates only to officer roles.

Oh you also need to be fairly intelegent

.

Go and start the application process though and see how it goes it will be an experience.

lukechad · 25 Feb 2006 at 11:54

I have to agree with the above comment. You have to be so perfect to become an RAF pilot. If you think you are their main fighting force, they arent going to let anyone have the top job are they.

I went for a technician line when I was thinking of joining the force, you didnt have to be prefect, as long as you had GCSE's and did well in the interview they would take you on as a trainee and train you into a role.

If piloting is what you really want then try and take the commercial route, if its the RAF you really want however then try and lower your expectations a little bit, everyone starts at the bottom, so if you start at an avionics engineer, you can proove yourself, transfer between jobs and slowly work your way up the ranks.

Hugogo · 25 Feb 2006 at 12:08

lukechad said:
If piloting is what you really want then try and take the commercial route, if its the RAF you really want however then try and lower your expectations a little bit, everyone starts at the bottom, so if you start at an avionics engineer, you can proove yourself, transfer between jobs and slowly work your way up the ranks.

You will never ever get promoted to a pilot role after being a mechanic. Its just not how it works...

If they spend money on you training you into a trade they dont change you very often. I met someone who tried to do this, went in as a medic when the RAF promised him that he could change to pilot eventually. It never happend.

lukechad · 25 Feb 2006 at 12:09

No i understand he will never be able to work his way up to a pilot, but he can start at the bottom as a mechanic and work his way up, lead teams and have a more important role to play. Thats all I meant by that

Stringy · 25 Feb 2006 at 12:14

You'd still have to get through the same Officer and Aircrew Selection course as everyone else if you wanted to become an Officer though. You would stand a better chance given your experience (by better chance I mean you would likely be better in terms of skills, not they'd be more likely to pick you just because you've been in the RAF).

Also they don't only want people with Degrees for commissioned roles, they don't care how clever you are on paper, that is what the 4 1/2 hour aptitude test is for, and the 30 weeks of Initial Officer Training.

VIRII · 25 Feb 2006 at 12:39

Hugogo said:
Also id seriously consider getting a degree before you join as most of the people youll be serving with will be graduates. Forces are trying to recruit graduates only to officer roles.

I would suggest joining the Air Cadets as an initial step - this will seriously improve your chances.
Physics / Maths based qualifications will be preferred for Pilot roles.

Hugogo said:
Oh you also need to be fairly intelegent .

Indeed, intelligence will be important, spelling ability might be as well

Ricochet J · 25 Feb 2006 at 12:45

I wanted to join the RAF. I'm doing Maths, Physics, Graphics A Level and Cisco CCNA Qualification. Reading in this thread, I might just reconsider my options

VIRII · 25 Feb 2006 at 12:48

eXSBass said:
I wanted to join the RAF. I'm doing Maths, Physics, Graphics A Level and Cisco CCNA Qualification. Reading in this thread, I might just reconsider my options

Reconsider? Why?
Anyone thinking of joining the Armed Forces would do well to join the cadets first. I can't emphasize that enough, not only will it help you decide if it is the place for you but it will help prepare you for joining.
Services life is great (not usually so fab for the families though).

Hugogo · 25 Feb 2006 at 13:27

VIRII said:
Indeed, intelligence will be important, spelling ability might be as well

Oh god no a spelling mistake! (You forgot a full stop?!!) However your right joining your local cadets would make sense. Also if you choose to go to university join your local University Air Squadron / OTC. However they are very different to regular service so dont let some experiences you get from these taint your image of the life you could be leading.

inferno · 25 Feb 2006 at 23:13

The_Judge said:
I was ruled out because of my eyesight aswell, so i had to take the commercial route. However my friend who is 6ft 4 fits inside the plane but failed the aircraft carrier landing phase (Navy), didnt have the depth perception. Which im very surprised they didnt find out earlier.

What are you flying now?

da_mic_1530 · 25 Feb 2006 at 23:40

as i always say to people with a career in mind in the armed forces,

its not like computer games

and to quote FPS doug, theres no respawn points in Real life.

If you are SERIOUS about it though, good luck to you mate, i respect anyone who joins the forces to keep me safe, feel sorry for the lads in Iraq. Ive heard its a hard life though.

-Neil- · 26 Feb 2006 at 00:07

I shall be popping into my local RAF careers office in a week or
so to discuss my options, my choice would be to enter as an Aircraft
Technician (Mechanical).

Neil.

Eliot · 26 Feb 2006 at 14:16

anyone know what you do day to day? its not just sitting in a room waiting for war is it, i supoose you train and stuff? what about holidays, like christmas and stuff? u get time of yes? (obviously not when ** in war)

Jeff Crawly · 26 Feb 2006 at 15:47

/pedantic mode

You don't actually fly the fighter jet yourself!! Modern fighter jets are way too unstable for a human pilot to control (they are deliberately designed this way), a computer (well 4 on modern jets) actually flies the jet and the pilot tells the computers what it wants it too do!
If the computers were too fail the pilot would lose control of the jet almost instantaneously.